a little knitting, a little albany

we are enjoying our mid-winter visit to albany in a variety of ways this week, including a trip to the movies on wednesday afternoon. my mom and my aunt helen have a standing date to see a movie once a week, something that david and i used to do, but never seem to keep up with at home (maybe we should get back in the habit).

the spectrum theater is one of their favorites—this is the old delaware theater, which was lightly renovated and reopened as the the spectrum, back when i lived in albany in the early 80s. it’s a neighborhood art deco house that my parents went to as kids to spend the whole day watching movies for 10¢.

(you can see in this photo that i come by my gray hair honestly . . .)
when it was renovated and reopened, the theater’s 1930s features were retained as much as possible with a comfortably worn effect. they show mostly foreign films, art films, and indie productions. my mom and aunt often go to another theater that charges just $4, but we “splurged” on the spectrum in order to see slumdog millionaire which we all loved.

when we got out, dusk was falling and i got this beautiful shot of the lit marquee

i love the colors of the darkening sky at this time of evening, on its blue-into-purple journey.

i’m also getting LOTS of knitting done here, yay.

the holidazed sock is growing . . . i work on it at the breakfast table while we drink coffee and listen to talk radio (they have an excellent local program, talk 1300 FM, hosted by paul vandenburgh every morning). albany is very political, so there is plenty of fodder for great radio and news.

in the evenings, i’ve been making great headway on the boxleaf shawl which mostly looks like a big blob

but last night, as i finished up my first skein of yarn (enough for the mini-shawl version), i decided it was time to switch to the longer circular needle, which gave me an opportunity to spread it out and take a photo of the piece lying flat.

and though i had to photograph it by lamplight, i think it gives us a pretty good idea of what the shawl looks like knit up in the variegated cambyx yarn (as opposed to the more nearly-solid fabric of my first sample)

the strong lines of the lace pattern holds up very well with the color changes in the hemlock colorway (which is a lot richer in natural light), and once it’s stretched, the holes will dominate the composition.

i love the feel of the yarn—the camel fiber in the blends lends a softer texture to the silk it’s married to and adds some warmth to the hand. i’m knitting on to at least the petite size shawl, maybe bigger (i might just keep going til the yarn runs out—it gets used up faster and faster toward the hem).

i’ve also worked a lot on my small secret project, but heh, that’s secret, so i can’t show it to you.

maplewing arrived safe and sound at kim’s house yesterday and she emailed to let me know she loves it (i’m alway relieved and happy to that a collaborator likes “our” project). she has been working lots of overtime to get ready for SPA this weekend and has tons of goodies ready to offer there. so if you are headed to freeport, maine, this weekend, please stop by the woolen rabbit booth to say hello to our buddy kim and take a look at her gorgeous yarns.

i’m off to meet my mom for a walk before she goes on to her afternoon commitments; see you next time.
(ooh, she got a delivery of BD flowers; she’s gonna love these)

23 Responses to “a little knitting, a little albany”

Hi Anne, I love your maplewing shawl; it does look like a butterfly in that one photo where you have it spread out! Schmetterling is, I think, the German word for butterfly. Perhaps the other one is a specific type? Whatever, it’s beautiful!

Ooh! I’m first. I loved Slumdog Millionaire too. I’m glad you are having some family fun and getting some knitting done too. Sounds like a nice time. Now stop talking about how nice the Cambyx is! I’m trying not to fall for it…

are you as afraid of mailing handknits as we are of shipping fine art? (hubby is a painter…) after all these years, i always still PRAY that it gets there in one piece!!! i would have been heartbroken if maplewing came up missing!

When you had blogged about a trip to the Northeast a few days ago, I didn’t realize you were headed to Albany…I grew up in a town about 20 min north of there, and attended Albany Medical College. The Spectrum is a great place – it’s where I saw my first artsy film, “Blue Velvet”.

Glad to hear you are enjoying your trip…I always do when I visit home. Albany may not be the prettiest city, but there’s something about the area that just feels right.

Hey I’ve been there!! Back when I used to work at the alternative newsweekly down the street, I would walk along Delaware Ave. from Madison Ave over to the old Periwinkle Sheep next to the Chocolate Gecko. Good times, good times.

I’ve just recently been reading your blog. I love your designs. I live north of Albany in Clifton Park and it seems funny to see someone writing in a touristy way about the area. I’ve been to the Spectrum a few times but probably not since it’s been renovated. Thanks for sharing your progress on you projects. I can’t wait to see what the secret one is!

Could there be a better selection of current films to see? What a great theater! I bet you even knit in the dark. Have a safe & fun journey home.

Oh, that picture of the Spectrum at twilght was gorgeous. My husband the, amateur photographer, would say that it was taken just a littler later than “sweet light”. Your photographs are awesome. I love looking through your lens on the world.

Get Kim to take a picture of the booth, because it looks GREAT! The Maplewing, the Honeybee, the cowl – it all looks lovely. The pattern display was perfect and easy to navigate. The booth was full of ladies doing lots of oohing and aahhhhing when I was there around 7 this evening. Congrats you two! If Kim is the one whose daughter was not feeling well, then we spoke briefly but I was too shy to tell her I was a longtime Knitspot lurker. The hotel was very nice, a huge improvement over their former digs here in Portland. Thanks for supporting SPA. We Mainers need a little color just about now.

Wow. Just… wow. Maplewing is incredibly gorgeous, and after all the work, calculations, and foment– it’s just incredible.

Your pictures of the Spectrum reminded me of the vintage theater in Northampton, where I went to college. There’s nothing like a renovated, old-school movie palace. They’re just so dang luxuriant! 8) Glad to hear that you’re having a wonderful time.

As always I love reading your blog and of course, being an Albany resident, love, love, love the Spectrum. They have the BEST Popcorn and amazing brownies! You really should let one of the Albany area yarn shops know when you are coming as there are a number of us who would love to welcome you back to the area (even if on a visit!).

OK – now I’m homesick . . . I had a standing movie date with my dad at the Spectrum – we’d always get herb tea & a slice of carrot cake. It never mattered what we saw, the films were almost always fantastic.